Public Spaces

No infrastructure? No problem for ARC Security at off-grid Kai Iwi Lakes

North of Dargaville, in the heart of the Kauri Coast, Kai Iwi Lakes is situated within the 538ha recreation reserve of Taharoa Domain. The two lakeside camping grounds are packed out with tourists and campers during the summer months. When the Kaipara District Council, who manage the reserve and campgrounds, called the ARC Security office seeking security expertise for the Kai Iwi Lakes campground, it was ARC Security Consultant Matt Watts that took the call, and then the task of turning their vague wish-list of security needs (access control, security cameras, etc.) into a custom integrated design that truly served their purposes. Matt included provisioning for formerly non-existent infrastructure, including securing and coordinating with sub-contractors. Matt’s design not only won the tender, but was not altered or edited in any way during the course of the project.

“They kept me in the loop, informed me all the time what was happening. Everything went well. Matt was good to deal with.” Says Barrie from Northland Underground Drilling, one of several companies sub-contracted by ARC Security to pull this major mission off.

At a glance, Matt’s design included:

• Civil works to install power poles and transformers to bring previously unavailable data access into the reserve.
• 28 CCTV security cameras plus camera poles.
• Installation of 5 WiFi links to create a camera network.
• 1 stand-alone solar panel install to generate electricity for the security system.
• 2 automated swing gates complete with access control.

“It wasn’t a large project when you think about it [in terms of number of devices installed],” Says Kyle King, ARC Security project supervisor, “However, it became a challenge when you [factor in] six different sites, 5 different WiFi links, a stand-alone solar panel install with the second biggest lake in Northland right in the middle of it all!”

During the project, Kyle lived, on and off, in a cabin on site in order to supervise not only the security installation, but the extensive civil works required to implement that security system on challenging terrain. Each building presented its own challenges; different poles and posts were required to attach the different cameras and WiFi links onto. Kyle says, “The biggest part was working with and coordinating all of our separate sub-contractors and getting them all to site at the right times. As well as making sure that all of the right OSH boxes were ticked for us […We had to have] all of the right paperwork [including] Take 5’s, TA’s, traffic management plans etc. etc.” Kyle enthuses that he “loved every minute of it” despite enjoying some “wild west coast weather through winter”. Pits and ducts became waterlogged and at one stage several locations were under approximately 40cm of water.

Nigel Hutchinson, from Northland Gate Automation, who manufactured, supplied and installed the camera poles and automated swing gates for ARC Security, said of the Kai Iwi Lakes project, “This project was quite extensive but [I am] happy to say there were no major challenges. Our experience working alongside ARC Security was excellent; great planning and communication along with flexibility and understanding of what both parties needed to complete this project. We found Kyle excellent to work with, he is professional friendly helpful and considerate, he also was organised running the project on site and remotely.” Northland Gate Automation use ARC Security for all their camera work “because the products required that they supply suit our needs and ARC understand what we require. We are also happy to recommend ARC to our customers too.”